Life preserver



A. D. FRANTZ.

LIFE PRESERVER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11, 1920.

Patented Apr. 111 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

A. D. FRANTZ.

LIFE PRESERVER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 11. 1920.

Patented Apr. 111, 1922.

2 $HETS-SHEET 2.

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STATES PATENT fi l-Fa iar.

ALBERT D. FRANTZ, OF BATTLE CREEK, TMICHIGAN, ASSIG-NOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 GEORGE BJCONRAD, GE BATTLE CREEK, IEICT-IIGAN.

LIFE PRESERVE-R.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1922.

Application filed November 11, 1920. Serial No. 423,356.

T 0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. ALBERT DgFnenrz, a citizen of the United States, residing at Battle Creek, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan. have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life Preservers, of which the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and appended claims, vforms a specification.

The present invention relates more particularly to that class of life preservers in which an inflatable container or buoy strapped to the person is employed.

Among others, one feature of the present invention is a tightly sealed cylindrical fluid container of metal, enclosed in a gas-generating chamber of the life preserver in such a manner that it may be opened by a single throw of an exterior lever and permit said fluid to escape and mingle with certain gas forming elements within said chamber, thereby generating suflicient gas to support the wearer when inwater.

Another feature and important object of the invention is to construct a life preserver so arranged that the wearer may inflate the same before entering the water and when inflated said life preserver will not become deflated except by abnormal forces or from efforts especially directed and put into effect with that end in view.

These and other objects will be readily comprehended by those familiar with the art to which this invention appertains.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved life preserver in which the working parts are shown in cross section, and showing three compartments fully inflated, one other not having been inflated.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-section of the life preserver showing the working elements in position prior to inflation.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 except that the elements are in the position taken after inflation.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the head of the life preserver, showing the lever in position prior to inflation.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal cross-section of a portion of the life preserver, showing a modification of the same.

Like marks of reference refer to correspending or equivalent parts in the views, in

which A represents the buoy or body portion of the life preserver, the same being former. of rubber, round of contour and formed to extend nearly about a persons body, and being secured at its ends by means of a link, snap, ring, or equivalent device 1 connecting outwardly-extending lugs 2 of detachable heads 3 of the buoy.

The buoy preferably is formed with at least three partitions (as l and 5), the partition 5 being imperforate and the partitions i being perforate, for reasons hereinafter more fully set forth.

lVithin the ends of the buoy chambers B of metal or equivalent material are provided. The chambers are nominally concentric within the buoy and are secured in position by means of flat rings 6 and screws '7, the screws passing through said rings, the inturned ends of the buoy. and into appropriate threaded holes in outwardlyturned flanges 8 of said chambers, the arrangement of the fastenings rendering the buoy gas tight and effectually preventing the attached parts from loosening.

concentrically fitted within each of the chambers B is an open-ended fluid receptacle C, the closed ends of which have threadedexteriors which screw into correspond ingly-threaded openings near the outer ends of the chambers B, as shown, and'they are rendered gas and water tight near the union of the parts by means of packing rings 9.

' interposed between ofl'set portions (it thetwo sures 14 fitted on the pistons 10 may be moved to open and close the flaring openings of said receptacles in the operation of the life preserver. As shown, these closures are secured between suitable nuts or between a nut and a disc, (15 and 16), fitted to the piston and the pistons are operated by means of eccentric slots 17 in enlarged portions of levers 18 pivoted to the lug extremities 2 of the fluid receptacles C, the slots 17 engaging said extending lugs or pins 19 of said pistons, the arrangement of the curved slots in connection with the body of the wearer, in which POSlblOl'l the corks or closures 1.4 will close the fluid receptacles C, as shown, to the right in Fig. 1. The arrangement of the lover, the piston 'and the lug is very clearly shown in Fig.

' tition between the same and a flanged ex-..

2, in which view the enlarged portion of; the lever 18 lies between the piston 10 and the lug extremities 2 of the fluid receptacles C with the axle or pivot 20 of the lever fitted within a socket of said lug. The pistons 10 are formed with open passages or vents 21 V at portions through which they are adapted. to operate in conjunction with apertures or glands in the life preserver. I

In Fig. 3 a vent or passageQQ is shown asformed in the inner end of a chamber B, while in Fig. 5 the gland through which a piston operates, as shown, is a part of or attached to the head of the chamber B, the gland being connected with its adjoining gas. chamber by means of a small lexible gas tight tube 23 fitted over a nipple 24: secured to the partition 4. by means of a nut 25 screwed to saidnipple with said partremityof said nipple in ainanncr cus tomary for insuring nonleaka-ge of the adjoined parts. The vents 21 of said pistons permit gases to flow from one compartment of the lifepreserver to another when said vents register with the glands through whichthey are moved by the sliding of he pistons 10.

.In operation, calcium carbide or equivalent chemicals are placed. in the chambers .13 and water in the receptacles, C, the receptacles being kept tight by means of the closures 14, hereinbefore set forth, should occasion arise that the inflation of the life preserver be expedient or necessary after the same had-been charged as set forth, a lever or levers 18 being moved or turned inwardly toward the operator or away from the outer side toward the inner portion of the buoy, a process causing the pistons 10 to remove the closures 14 from the mouths or openings of the receptacles C and allow the water therein to flow ontothe chemicals, as D, within the. chambers :ondary oradj-oining compartments oi": the

buoy next to the end or compartments in which the chemicals are formed receiving I o and through chemical decomposition or action .of their elements produce I gas, the latter gases through the vents or passages 21 of the pistons 10 when. registering with the glands through which they operate. I

The provision of separating the buoy into compartments-is to insure a more stable article for the purpose as, "for instance, should a compartment explode the probabilities are that the other of the compartments would not, and especially wherethe compartments in-which gases are "formed are independent of one another.

The arrangement of thepistons and their vents for allowing gases to flow from'onc compartment to a connected compartment through irlarnl openings "while not iii'talhble underall circumstances in precluding gases from reflowing and escaping through said glands should a compartment explode, is such that should one compartment leak or explode, the adjoining compartment might still remain inflated and efl'ective for its purpose provided the person wearing said buoy .actuated the lever 18 to its normal position, an operation which would unregister the vent 21 of its piston with the gland opening from one compartment to another and prevent gas from escaping from the closed compartment.

From the foregoing explanation taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is believed the objects and advantages of my improved life preserver will be fully comprehended. l r

. Having, therefore, set forth myinvention, what I claim as new and desire to'secure by Letters Patent, is:- r

1. In a life *preserver, the combination with an inflatable buoy and means toconnect the ends when placed about a wearers waist, a chamber perforated at one'end placed within each end of said buoy and adapted to close its extremities, a receptacle open at one end and screw-threaded at its opposite end into the outer. end of each of'saidchamber-s, said chambers and said receptacles having aligned orifices, a piston extending through said ori- Ill fices, said piston "having a vent and also a" closure fitted thereto, said closure adapted'to close said receptacle and said vent adapted to relieve said perforated. chamber simultaneously by an inward movement of said piston and to close. said receptacle and's'aid chamber by a reverse movementiof said piston, and vice versa','in the manner asand for the purpose set. forth. 7 i j w 2. In a'life preserver, the combination with an inflatable buoy and means to connect its ends about a persons body, a chamber having .a perforate end extending within each end fitted to said pistons adapted to open and close said receptacles by reciprocating said pistons, as and for the purpose set forth.

3%. In a life preserver, a flexible compartmental buoy adapted to be coupled about a persons body at its ends, said buoy having four compartments imperforately joined between perforately joined end compartments, detachable metallic heads in the ends of said buoy, said heads forming internally-extending chambers with perforated ends, recepta cles closed at one end and open at the otherscreW-threaded into said heads concentrically Within said chambers, the open ends of said receptacles being in close proximity to the perforated ends of said chambers, flexible tubes connecting the perforated ends of said chambers With openings in adjoining compartments, pistons operative through the closed ends of said receptacles and through said perforated ended chambers communicating With said flexible tubes, closures fitted on said pistons adapted to close the open ends of said receptacles, and means to actuate said pistons to remove or replace said closures in relation to said receptacles and to open and close the passage from one compartment to the other. substantially as and for the pur' pose set forth.

4. In a life preserver, the combination of a flexible inflatable compartmental buoy adapted to extend about a persons Waist, metallic. closures forming heads for said buoy, the ends of said buoy adapted to be drawn over said heads, rings over said ends and means to secure said rings to said heads to hold said ends between said rings and said heads, and means extending from said heads whereby said buoy may be connected about a persons Waist.

5. In a life preserver comprising an exterior flexible inflatable buoy adapted to be connected about a persons Waist, rigid heads securing the ends of said buoy, chambers extending from said heads into said buoy having perforated inner ends, detachable receptacles open at one end and closed at the other end extending through saidheads with the open ends disposed internally Within said receptacles, pistons operative through said receptacles, flexible closures mounted on said pistons adapted to close or open said receptacles by the movement of said pistons, and means to operate said pistons, as and for the purpose set forth.

ALBERT D. FRANTZ.

Witnesses LC. BALDORFF, GEO. B. CONRAD. 

